Life is Full of Cookies…

“Sometimes the cookies look so good…And I want them so much.I think to myself that I would rather eat a cookie and risk your discovering the crumbs than to ask you if I can eat a cookie and risk being told ‘No’”.

This is my teen son’s explanation of why he is sneaky sometimes.

Life is full of cookies-literally and metaphorically.

I sneak in a decadent snack of chocolate milk and several oreo cookies at the end of the day, even when I know the “crumbs” will show in the form of pounds on the weight scale.

We know our students and our children may be sly as they try to get out of homework, or try to bend the rules for assignments, sports practices, or late-night texting.

Our job is to help them to understand and evaluate the cookie choices before them.How delicious is the cookie?How natural are the ingredients? Why do I want one so badly? What are the consequences of eating this cookie?Will I be able to stop at just one?

We each have had cookie dilemmas in our lives.As a junior, I was invited to a seniors-only party in high school, a “cookie” I wanted very badly and my parents consented to.Just before the party, I found out alcohol was being served. Was I certain that I would not want this cookie, too?

Today, I think there has never been a time in history when a greater and endless variety of seemingly delicious cookies have been accessible to each of us, especially those of us who are young and novices in a world full of delectable desserts.

We can keep our students and children away from the aroma of fresh baked pastries for as long as possible, we can even make sure we never have desserts at home…and we may risk finding crumbs anyway. Or we can share our favorite cookies with them as they grow up, and help them be discriminating in their own choices of delectable, desirable, and potentially diabolical, cookies.